The Supreme Court Tuesday pulled up the Centre for pursuing its curative plea seeking an additional Rs 7,844 crore from successor firms of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) for giving compensation to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, saying the court is bound by 'maryada' of jurisdiction and the government cannot reopen a settlement arrived at with the company after over 30 years.
Observing that populism cannot be a basis for judicial review, the apex court said it does not look good in a globalised world that even if you have settled something with the government of India it can be reopened at a later stage.
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, who headed the five-judge Constitution bench, said, "Courts are not averse to extending the envelope to exercise jurisdiction. But it all depends on the jurisdiction you are dealing with.
"If I am sitting in Article 226 jurisdiction, I would certainly not hesitate to mould the relief wherever required. In a suit, I will be more constrained and here we are in curative. There is 'maryada' in the jurisdiction. We as judges are bound by 'Maryada' (limit) of jurisdiction."
The bench, also comprising Justices Sanjeev Khanna, Abhay S Oka, Vikram Nath and JK Maheshwari, told Attorney General R Venkataramani, showed its clear disinclination about reopening the contentious issue.
"The court is not going to step into something which is not permissible and open the pandora box. There was a settlement which was arrived at between the parties and the court has approved it. Now in curative jurisdiction, we cannot reopen that settlement. Our decision in one case will have wide ramification. You need to understand to what extent curative jurisdiction can be invoked," the bench said.